El Dorado LunchBox Summer Meals for Kids

A community partnership between:

El Dorado Schools (USD490)

Kansas Food Bank, www.kansasfoodbank.org
Kids Need to Eat (KN2E), www.kidsneedtoeat.org

El Dorado LunchBox will distribute free sack lunches and milk to children in El Dorado during the school summer recess. Called LockerMates, the sack lunches come in many varieties and are designed to meet federal nutrition guidelines. A lunch sack and carton of milk costs $2.50/serving. Children like eating them. The Kansas Food Bank is accepting donations for the sack lunches to be provided. It partners with other communities for similar lunch programs.

Phase I: Free meals during June (4 weeks)

USD USD490 is offering a Summer Academy at Skelly School, grades K - 12. The Summer Academy will be Monday - Thursday, 8am - noon, in June. Free breakfast and lunch will be served to all students enrolled in the Summer Academy as part of the school program. USD 490 plans to provide transportation from other schools. El Dorado LunchBox will provide Weekend Foodpacks for kids and their siblings in the neediest households in our community.

Phase II: Free meals during July & August (6 weeks)

El Dorado LunchBox will offer free sack lunches and milk daily to all children under age 18. Lunches will be distributed at Skelly School, Monday - Thursday, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm. In addition, Weekend Foodpacks will be distributed on Thursdays to all children. USD 490 plans to continue shuttle service between its schools during this period. Private day care and pre-school programs are asked not to bring their children for free lunches without making arrangements in advance with KN2E . To collect demographic data, children will be asked to sign a Daily Distribution Report with their first name and age. No questions will be asked other than, How are you today?

Volunteers & Teen Workers

Help is needed to pack and distribute lunches and Weekend Foodpacks and chill the milk cartons in coolers. During Phase I, USD 490 plans to offer a Food Service Class at the Summer Academy for teens to learn and practice work skills. During Phase II, KN2E plans to hire at least two teens who complete the Food Service class, and pay them to work two hours, Monday - Thursday, for six weeks.
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Weekend Foodpacks during the Summer

El Dorado LunchBox will distribute them on Thursdays for 11 weekends this summer. Each will contain 3 sack lunches and 3 cartons of shelf-stable milk. El Dorado LunchBox and church partners will seek food donations (e.g., pudding and fruit cups, breakfast bars, raisin boxes) from the community to be included in the Weekend Foodpacks.

Activities Program
Other summer meal programs have found more children participate when activities are offered in connection with free meals. The Summer Academy provides an activities component during Phase I. KN2E is exploring activity options during Phase II to be offered near Skelly School.

Budget & Funding: April 15 fundraising deadline

An estimated 4000 sack lunches and milk cartons are needed this summer. KN2E seeks to raise $10,000 in donations to the Kansas Food Bank by April 15 for the lunches. Donations are made to the Kansas Food Bank, designating the El Dorado LunchBox program. Online donations by credit card can be made at www.kansasfoodbank.org (scroll down to the El Dorado Lunchbox donation link under the Our Programs column). KN2E needs to raise separate funding for the Teen Work component and activities program.

Childhood Hunger in El Dorado, KS

Food insecurity refers to a households lack of access to adequate food - bottom line: not enough suitable food to eat. The childhood food insecurity rate in Kansas is 22.7%. Butler County and the City of El Dorado have a similar or higher rate. More than 58% of students in the El Dorado School District are eligible for free and reduced price meals during the school year. Three USD 490 elementary schools participate in the Kansas Food Banks Food4Kids backpack program. It provides free weekend meals for the neediest students and their siblings during the school year. During the summer for the 11 weeks when schools are closed,1 USD 490 students dont have access to school-based meals weekdays or the Food4Kids backpacks on weekends. This is also true for students who attend Oil Hill Elementary School in El Dorado, which is part of the Circle School District (USD 375). Not everyone eligible for Food Stamps applies for and receives them (an estimated 60% of eligible households participate). In Kansas, the average monthly benefit is $125 per person. Food Stamp benefits do not increase during the summer when children are not in school.2 Prepared by: Judie Storandt, Kids Need to Eat, Inc. (KN2E),3 405-308-9158 (cell), kidsneed2eat.@msn.com
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USD 490s last day of school is May 24, and begins again August 13 & 14. The Food Stamp Program is now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and is administered in Kansas by the Dept. for Families & Children (DCF) 3 Kids Need to Eat, Inc. (KN2E) was created to raise awareness about childhood hunger issues and to advocate for solutions. Its non-profit status is pending (see: www.kidsneedtoeat.org). 2